Burkhard Huwiler,
M.Afr. (7 April 1868 – 1 October 1954), was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
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Roman Catholic bishop who served as a missionary in Africa from 1929 to 1946.
Huwiler was born in
Buttwil, in the Canton of
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
, the son of Martin Leonz and Ana Maria Barbara Huwiler. He attended a
gymnasium in
Einsiedeln, after which, in 1887, he entered the seminary of the Missionaries of Africa (traditionally known as the
White Fathers), determined to serve in the missions there. At the age of 25, on 2 July 1893, he was ordained a priest. Before his pastoral work in central Africa, he traveled for four years throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland, charged with raising funds for the work of his
congregation. In 1897 he was sent to serve in the region of
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
, then part of
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
. Two years later he had to return home to Switzerland due to his health, where he remained until 1904, when he returned to Africa.
Due to his nationality, Huwiler was able to remain at his post after World War I, when Germany lost this colony and it became a League of Nations mandate, to be administered by the United Kingdom, called the Tanganyika Territory. In March 1929 Huwiler was named by Pope Pius XI to head the newly created Vicariate Apostolic of Bukoba (now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rulenge-Ngara) and titular bishop of Vazaritanus. He was consecrated on the following 14 July by Bishop Joseph Sweens, M.Afr.
Huwiler resigned his office on 20 March 1946 and died in Bukoba, where he was buried, in keeping with the practice of his congregation.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huwiler, Burkhard
1868 births
1954 deaths
People from Muri District
White Fathers priests
Roman Catholic missionaries in Tanzania
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Tanzania
Swiss Roman Catholic bishops
Apostolic vicars
Burials in Tanzania
Swiss expatriates in Tanzania
Roman Catholic titular bishops
Roman Catholic bishops of Rulenge-Ngara